COVID-19 & Japan’s Arctic Research—Amid Unprecedented Hardship
*This article was originally published in ArCS II News Letter No.2 (July 2021).
In Arctic studies, on-site observation and investigative work are indispensable means of research to understand the realities of the rapidly changing Arctic. In 2020, however, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to strict restrictions on our travel to countries in the Arctic region as well, forcing conventional observation and investigative activities there to be suspended for more than a year. Amid such an unprecedented hardship, what sorts of problems is Japan’s Arctic research faced with and how are researchers responding to it? We sat with Dr. Teruo Aoki, specially appointed professor at the National Institute of Polar Research who is acting as a research director of the Strategic Goal 1 project of the institute, to discuss these issues.
(Interviewer: ArCS II secretariat)
──Implementing observation in the Arctic region’s natural environment is particularly important to all research themes contributing to Strategic Goal 1. What is the current status of implementation?
Research director Aoki (hereinafter “Aoki): As for the activities related to Research Program on Land , we were unable to execute onsite observation at all in land areas in Canada’s Arctic region, Eastern Siberia and Alaska, which had been scheduled for fiscal 2020. Regarding themes associated with Research Program on Ocean , the oceanographic research vessel MIRAI has navigated the Arctic Sea as it did every year in the past, but the number of observation days was greatly reduced, restricting the items scheduled for observation. As to Research Program on Atmosphere , we were unable to do maintenance work for some observational instruments installed in Ny-Ålesund, causing part of ongoing observations to stop and temporarily suspending the continuous observation of greenhouse gases. On the activities related to Research Program on Cryosphere , the setting up of an automatic weather station (AWS) in Greenland was postponed from the current fiscal year to next year. With campaign (long-duration) observation planned abroad postponed, our related research plan has been changed as well.
──Restrictions on trips to Arctic countries and subsequent inability to go there have had a great impact, haven’t they?
Aoki: The curbs on movements stemming from COVID-19 do not only affect human traffic from Japan to foreign countries but also stymied international logistics service as a result of halts to airfreight, etc., and we are once unable to send atmospheric samples collected abroad back to Japan. Here in Japan, too, we have suffered such adverse effects as delayed analyses due to restrictions on commuting to office and limited numbers of people allowed access to laboratories, both being measures to prevent infections with the new coronavirus, as well as the delayed development of equipment for observation resulting from the alteration of work shifts on the part of the company to which the development project was commissioned. On the other hand, there were problems in promoting research on our side as face-to-face meetings were restricted when communication was necessary at the start of this project, which caused negative effects, possibly affecting in-program collaboration.
──If you cannot carry out on-site observation and analyze samples as scheduled, you cannot go ahead with research activities, can you?
Aoki: We have carried out on-site observation on a reduced scale for some themes, including oceanographic themes. Given the current circumstances where we are unable to conduct almost all observation projects, we have reviewed the plan for each research program to ensure that we do what we can now. For example, we appropriated a budget set aside for local observation and travel, for studies on a model project or on satellite remote sensing, thus implementing these research projects ahead of schedule. We also commissioned part of observation and maintenance work to local joint researchers or were provided with samples by them, thus continuing observation or analyses for some programs. As for projects for which observation is difficult, we are considering replacing the observation sites with alternative locations. At the same time, we are proceeding with on-site observation planning and adjustment of observational instruments on the assumption that the situation would improve, making overseas travel possible.
──Online meetings have spread rapidly on the back of moves to fend off COVID-19. What effect do you feel from the tendency?
Aoki: Some people say that the pace of writing research papers has accelerated on the whole probably because international academic sessions and conferences have come to be held online, resulting in reduction of business trips for participation in such meetings. But some researchers belonging to universities have seen their time for research decline due to the need for online classes and other work over the Internet. Thus, the effects brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic are diverse.
──Is the situation in Japan different from circumstances at research institutes abroad?
Aoki: There is no Arctic in our country, and we have to cross national boundaries for Arctic observation, thus making on-site observation generally difficult. On the other hand, researchers in Arctic countries conduct on-site observation to a certain extent as they are allowed to move within the country.
──Is there anything you are doing in cooperation with overseas research institutes or individual researchers?
Aoki: It is very important to cooperate with researchers in the Arctic and foreign countries, and actually various collaborations are already underway. In Research Program on Atmosphere , we conducted continuous observation in Alaska and Siberia in cooperation with local researchers. In Ny-Ålesund, many existing observational instruments continue operating, with the cooperation of local institutes, and work is in progress to set up equipment for collecting atmospheric aerosols in a new project. At some land observation sites in Eastern Siberia, there is a track record of joint studies for many years and relationship of trust between local researchers and their Japanese counterparts. As a result, observation conducted so far is continuing by commissioning it to local researchers. However, commissioned observation is generally more expensive than what we do, and installation and fine-tuning of self-developed instruments are usually difficult with commissioning work.
──How have you responded to cases where it is difficult to commission observation?
Aoki: Even though some cases of observation and maintenance work can be entrusted to local researchers, there are many observation tasks and on-site investigations that cannot be conducted without Japanese researchers going there themselves. So, the current practice is that some research institute members authorized to make overseas trips visit Arctic countries after going through a broad array of advance procedures and a certain period of self-isolation after arrival, then doing such duties as installing equipment, undertaking maintenance work, and setting up observation bases. The suspended observation in Ny-Ålesund mentioned before is going to resume. We are also engaged in activities in partnership with researchers of other research programs to maximize the use of this precious opportunity for local visits.
──Lastly, please tell us future prospects and give our readers a message.
Aoki: Since the start of 2021, vaccination against COVID-19 is making progress little by little globally, allowing restrictions to tend to be eased on domestic movements within Arctic countries and on human traffic within the Arctic. But traveling to the region from Japan is still difficult, leaving the scientists involved in Arctic research in a severe situation. I indeed hope you will understand that researchers are making the maximum conceivable efforts every day with the determination to never stop research activities.
Comments from researchers who conducted the on-site observation (As of July 2021)
I think a great majority of people believe it is not a situation where we can go abroad as normal but should avoid overseas travel for a while. Even though I took several measures against infection and followed official procedures for departure, traveling under such a situation kept me continuously under stain, which brought on significant psychological stress and fatigue. But it is important to obtain continuous data to realize global environmental change. I think it is of great significance to have been able to resume observation which was inevitably suspended by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We knew that entry to Norway/Svalbard for research purposes was permitted even in the pandemic, but it was tough to keep up with the latest information on the various procedures for travel, which were being updated daily. We were always nervous when going through immigration because updated immigration procedures were not necessarily shared with airport and airline staffers and sometimes this led us to face unexpected situations. Nevertheless, I believe that our visit to Ny-Ålesund during the pandemic has made a meaningful contribution to the science community, because we successfully brought back observational data and samples and performed maintenance on a variety of instruments installed in Ny-Ålesund.
Supplementary Information as of November 2022
Summer field observations overseas such as Greenland and Alaska are gradually in full swing as we enter 2022. However, the situation is still not going as planned due to the COVID-19 infection in the area. In addition, the situation in Ukraine and the depreciation of the yen have created new problems, such as rising transportation costs, shipping costs, and the cost of aircraft operations. To overcome these difficulties, the researchers are fully prepared for the field observations.